Jets to Dream About and Buy at the AERO

Friedrichshafen – Many dream of these aircraft, and for some pilots they become a speedy workplace: Business aircraft and jets will create a sensation at the AERO from April 9 to 12, 2014. This year, sleek twin jets from Cessna, Embraer, and Gulfstream will be available to be admired at the fair. In addition, turboprop twins, turbine singles, turbine-powered helicopters, and multi-engine airplanes with piston engines, which are also part of business aviation, will be exhibited in Friedrichshafen.

Messe Friedrichshafen CEO Klaus Wellmann and project manager Roland Bosch are proud that several large manufacturers of business aircraft will be exhibiting their modern jets at AERO 2014: “With Gulfstream, Cessna, and Embraer, three of the four
global market leaders in business jets as measured by sales volume will be coming to the AERO,” Roland Bosch says. At the same time, the market in this area is also showing positive signals: For manufacturers of single- and twin-engine turboprops
and jets within business aviation, 2013 was characterized by mild to significant growth in the number of aircraft delivered and revenue. This was announced by the U.S. General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) a good month before the AERO.

According to GAMA, there are differences within individual segments of business aviation: For example, the number of twin-engine turboprops delivered increased in 2013 by an impressive 45 percent over the previous year. With turbine singles, there
was still an increase of 3.7 percent in aircraft delivered over 2012. Overall, the number of all delivered turboprops rose to 645 in 2013, representing an increase of 10 percent compared to 2012. The sales figures for 2013 give reason for optimism for this year:
In 2013, the manufacturers represented in GAMA generated revenue of USD 23.4 billion with piston-engined aircraft, turboprops, and jets, compared with USD 18.9 billion in the previous year (excluding helicopter manufacturers in both years). This represents a sales increase of 24 percent.

The manufacturers of business jets present at Lake Constance are building on this economic tailwind: For example, Gulfstream will be exhibiting a G150 and a G280 for the first time at the AERO. In addition, the Phenom 100/300 series will be presented
by Embraer, and models from the Citation CJ4 and XLS series will be exhibited by Cessna. As a premier in Germany, Atlas Air Service will be showing the new Cessna Citation M2. The lightweight entry-level jet of Eclipse Aviation, Aeris Eclipse 550, is
also coming to Lake Constance.

The fact that Germany is an important market for business aviation is shown by the number of business jets licensed here: With 387 aircraft, Germany ranks fifth in the world, and the neighboring country of Austria, with 244 licensed business jets, is
ranked seventh in the list of countries with the highest number of licensed jets.

In addition to jet aircraft, twin-engine turboprops such as the complete King Air series from Beech and the Aviator AP 68 of the Italian aircraft manufacturer Vulcanair can also be seen at the AERO. Apart from these multi-engine propeller aircraft, the focus is primarily on economical turbine singles: Pilatus PC12, Daher TBM 850, Cessna Caravan, and Piper Meridian are among the best-known representatives of this aircraft type. Multi-engine aircraft with piston engines are also used in business aviation. It is first and foremost twins made by Piper, Beechcraft, Diamond, or Vulcanair that are used here.

Helicopters are also part of business aviation, primarily models with turbine propulsion. On the exhibition grounds in Friedrichshafen, several turbine helicopters of the European company Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter) and models of
U.S. manufacturers will be able to be seen.

AERO 2014 will begin on April 9 and continue until April 12, 2014. More information is available at www.aero-expo.com.